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Dec 4, 2013 | 03:10

Accident at Brazil World Cup stadium stirs anxiety

A deadly accident last month at the Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo is adding to deep concerns over Brazil's preparations to host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. As Reuters correspondent Brian Winter reports, the stadium has become a lightning rod for Brazilians frustrated with weak economic growth and subpar public services.

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November 27 day construction crane itself post World Cup stadium site collapsed. And killed two workers on the ground below and us. For many Brazilians are renewed their fears that there could be some sort of bigger debacle. -- in their country hosts the World Cup starting in June 2014. -- into the particularly important part of Brazil's efforts so the 2014. World Cup in part because the opening game will be played there. Those are the host the World Cup has ten problematic from the beginning there's been a tremendous amount of pressure associated with getting the stadiums for the World Cup. On time. Are there twelve of them. Scattered throughout the country just this year in the continental United States. And the Carolina -- in Libya accident occurred represented a lot of those problems and work on the arena couldn't get started again in May 2011 that was a whole year. -- worked started most of the other eleven teams being used during the cup. When there were protests in Brazil and doing by more than a million Brazilians. With their government. People focused on these stadiums for the cup and specifically arena for champions as symbols of those quakes. The total amount of money being spent on these aliens and about 3.5. Billion dollars. A lot of resilience that that -- has -- inflated nudity it's kind of planning that led to the late start there in -- games. Many people think that money should have been spent on schools and hospitals instead. Partly rooted in the stadium construction projects have been so controversial is because. The circumstances really has changed in Brazil on a number of -- Back in 2007 the country was growing at a pace of about five to 6% a year. This is an economy they just announced this week shrank in the third quarter and people really thought that the World Cup would be an excuse to not only makes. Investments in new infrastructure. Further soccer teams at all so -- in public transport. Well here we are more than sixty years later you know hasn't panned out. It's very important provoke the Brazilian government and the Brazilian people. They get -- it will go right you can do even to people. Watching on TV. Brazil also had aspirations that go far beyond where it is today this is a country that. Has made tremendous progress of the last fifteen years. -- so we'll cut to -- validation. Its status as a right leaning economic and political power so obviously any. Embarrassment -- cut deeply into that image.

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